1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to processes for converting plant waste pomace (of, e.g., blueberries, cranberries, Saskatoon berries, bilberries, boysenberries, marionberries, chokeberries, loganberries, boysenberry, tayberries, gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries, alderberries, huckleberries, crowberries, strawberries, mulberries, grape, apple, etc.,) to concentrated antioxidant-enriched liquids comprised of the natural elements extracted from the respective plant waste pomace. This application claims priority on a US provisional patent application (Ser. No. 61/129,075) filed Jun. 3, 2008, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the main residual materials arising from juice pressing activities of berries e.g., e., blueberries, cranberries, Saskatoon berries, bilberries, boysenberries, marionberries, chokeberries, loganberries, boysenberry, tayberries, gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries, alderberries, huckleberries, crowberries, strawberries, mulberries, grape, apple, etc., is “pomace” which is herein defined as consisting primarily of the skins, seeds and exhausted pith of the pressed berries. The pomace has been shown to contain significant amounts of valuable molecules identified as anti-oxidants. One of the main problems in retaining these valuable molecules is that they are highly reactive in numerous naturally occurring environments. One means of extracting and capturing the residual anti-oxidant molecules remaining in the pomace with minimal denaturing is to use an acidified aqueous solution as a solvent in conjunction with a series of separators and varying temperature/pressure vessels.
Among the patents relating to the extraction and capturing of the residual anti-oxidant molecules remaining in the plant waste “pomace” are the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,507,423 issued Mar. 24, 2009, to Biorex Health Limited (Australia), which teaches extracting flavenoids from plant wastes of, e.g., soya beans, chick peas, subterranean clover, lupines, lupinus albus seeds, etc., using enzymatic conversion.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,462,370 issued Dec. 9, 2008, to Phenolics LLC (Omaha, Nebr.), which teaches the extraction of anthocyanins from plant waste materials of, e.g., blueberries, bilberries, boysenberries, marionberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc, using an extractant consisting of a sulfuric acid/ethanol solvent.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,427,418 issued Sep. 23, 2008, to Diana Ingredients SA, (France), which teaches extracting phloridzin-rich phenols from fruit of the Rosaceae family, e.g., apple, using solid/liquid extraction followed by enzymatic liquefaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,288,272 issued Oct. 30, 2007, to Ochiai et al (Napa, Calif.), which teaches the essential step of germination of dried grape seeds to obtain water-soluble polyphenols.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,270,837 issued Sep. 18, 2007, to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, which teaches the extraction of phenoloic fractions from freeze-dried cranberries by extraction with ethanol followed by extraction with ethyl acetate.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,208,181 issued Apr. 24, 2007, to The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, which teaches the extraction of anthrocyanins from fruit or highly pigmented garden vegetables, e.g., chokeberry, loganberry, boysenberry, tayberry, gooseberry, blackberry, raspberry, alderberry, huckleberry, crowberry, strawberry, mulberry, apple, lemon, orange, grapefruit, beet, carrot, red cabbage, etc., using sub-critical water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,442 issued Aug. 24, 2004, to Hauser Inc (El Segunda, Calif.), which teaches the extraction of anthocyanins from plant residues of, e.g., blueberries, bilberries, boysenberries, marionberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc using an acidified aqueous ethanol extraction followed by passage through a column loaded with a brominated polystyrene resin as an adsorbent resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,581 issued Apr. 8, 2003, to Canandigua Wines, which teaches extraction of phenolic substances from grapes, grape seeds and grape pomace using a hot water extraction followed by passage through a column loaded with a copolymer of trimethylpropane trimethylacrylate as an adsorbent resin.
Despite the teachings of the above prior art the need therefore exists to provide an economical process for converting waste bio-products of, e.g., blueberries, cranberries, Saskatoon berries, grapes, bilberries, boysenberries, marionberries, apple etc. into useful bio-product extracts which consist of concentrated antioxidant-enriched liquids comprised of the natural elements extracted from the respective waste bio-products.
Therefore, it is a general aim of the present invention to provide processes for satisfying the above need.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. the invention in its broadest sense and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this specification